Sena-BJP wins 28 LS seats in Maharashtra

The ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine has grabbed 28 of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, results for all of which are available now, humbling both the Congress and its breakaway Nationalist Congress Party led by former defence minister Sharad Pawar.

The Shiv Sena has won 15 seats which is a gain of nine seats over its 1998 performance. Its alliance partner,
the BJP has bagged 13 seats, which again is a great improvement over its tally of the last election.

The Congress has bagged 10 seats, while the Nationalist Congress Party has managed to win only six seats. The Bharatiya Republican Party-Bahujan Mahasangh, an ally of the Congress, the Janata Dal (secular) and the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), both NCP allies, and an independent have all won one seat each.

The Congress has suffered extensive losses in western Maharashtra where a majority of seats have gone to the NCP.

In Vidarbha, where the Congress had made a clean sweep bagging all the 11 seats in the 1998 elections, it has suffered reverses in Ramtek, with Congress candidate and newspaper magnet Banwarilal Purohit being defeated by the Shiv Sena's Subodh Mohite by a margin of 11,689 votes.

Similarly, the Shiv Sena also managed to wrest the Washim Lok Sabha seat from the Congress by a huge margin of 39,595 votes. The Congress has managed to retain Yavatmal, Nagpur and Wardha.

In Nagpur, Vilas Muttemwar of the Congress won by a huge margin of 72,695 votes beating his nearest rival Vinod Gudge Patil of the BJP, who is also the minister of state in the Narayan Rane ministry.

The NCP faced a shock defeat when NCP leader and close associate of Sharad Pawar, Datta Meghe lost in Wardha. He was in the third place while former Maharashtra Congress president Prabha Rao won against her nearest BJP rival by a margin of 7,052 votes.

Former Lok Sabha speaker Shivraj Patil-Chakurkar has won the Lok Sabha seat from Latur. He defeated his nearest rival Dr Gopalrao Patil of the BJP.

State Sports Minister Chandrakant Khaire of the Sena has defeated his nearest rival, former chief minister A R Antulay by 34,445 votes in Aurangabad.

The much-watched Baramati constituency went tamely in favour of former defence minister and NCP president Sharad Pawar, when he defeated his nearest rival of the BJP Pratibha Lokhande by a margin
of 298,903 votes. Pawar polled 5,10,928 votes. Ramkrishna More of the Congress finished a poor third with 1,46,641 votes.

Ramdas Athavale who is contesting as an independent supported by the NCP-led Progressive Democratic Front, wrested the traditional Congress bastion of Pandharpur by defeating Sandipan Thorat, by over 250,000 votes.

Another PDF partner Janata Dal-S' Haribhau Mahale has wrested the Malegaon Lok Sabha seat in northern Maharashtra from the Congress.

Prakash Ambedkar of the BBM has won the Akola Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 8,716 votes defeating his nearest rival Pandurang Fundkar of the BJP.

Ramshet Thakur of the Peasants and Workers Party has won the Kulaba Lok Sabha seat, a Left stronghold, defeating D B Patil of the Shiv Sena. A veteran PWP leader and social activist, Patil had recently switched loyalties to the Sena camp.

In an upset, the Congress lost the prestigious Ichalkaranji Lok Sabha seat, a famed powerloom town of the state, when Nivedita Mane of the NCP defeated the Congress candidate, Kallapa Awade by a fair margin of 12,812 votes.

In Kolhapur, Sadashiv Mandalik of the NCP defeated Congress candidate U N Gaikwad by a margin of 108,915 votes. Similarly, in Satara, Laxman Jadhav of the NCP won over his nearest rival Hindurao Nimbalkar of the Shiv Sena by a margin of 1,24,771 votes.

In Osmanabad, the Shiv Sena's Shivajirao Kamble wrested the seat from the Congress by defeating his nearest rival of the NCP Kashinath Deokule by a margin of 64,703 votes.

Uttamrao Dhikale of the Sena has won the Nashik Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 36,814 votes. He defeated his nearest rival Madhav Patil of the NCP.

Ramrao Jadhav of the Shiv Sena has defeated Bhausaheb Jamkar of the Congress by a margin of 43,665 in Parbhani.

Raosaheb Dadarao Danve of the BJP has won the Jalna Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 1,23, 869 votes. He defeated Dnyandeo Bhangar of the Congress.

Anandrao Adsul of the Shiv Sena has won the Buldhana Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 45,007 votes. He defeated former Union minister Mukul Wasnik of the Congress.

Ramdas Rupla Gavit of the BJP has won the Dhule Lok Sabha seat by a margin of 12,985 votes. He defeated Bapu Hari Chawde of the Congress.